President Donald Trump is facing a firestorm of backlash after he was quoted as saying that immigrants from Central America and Africa are coming from “s—hole countries” on Thursday, according to The Washington Post.
“Spoiler alert we’re the s—hole country now,” one Twitter user wrote.
Trump held an impromptu meeting with Republican lawmakers to discuss immigration reform on Thursday, and at one point asked “Why are we having all these people from shithole countries come here?,” according to the WaPo report.
The president went on to say that the country should instead bring more people from countries like Norway. Some observers have called Trump’s remark “racist,” noting that Norway is predominantly white, while the countries he derided are not.
“There are no words for language like this except for one: Racist,” the official Twitter account of the American Civil Liberties Union wrote, linking to the WaPo story.
“It’ll take *years* to recover from what this man is doing to America’s reputation and the integrity of its government,” wrote attorney and political commentator Seth Abramson.
There are no words for language like this except for one: Racist. https://t.co/KHLMiiHewh
— ACLU (@ACLU) January 11, 2018
https://twitter.com/timdonnelly/status/951575311522648066
Shithole President.
— Cameron Esposito (@cameronesposito) January 11, 2018
Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free*
* unless you’re from a shithole country
— Matt Viser (@mviser) January 11, 2018
You can keep telling me that this man and support of him isn't rooted in racial hostility. I'll just keep reading what he says and watching you still support him. https://t.co/B0g0TuCPB1
— Charles M. Blow (@CharlesMBlow) January 11, 2018
How curious that the "shithole" countries @realDonaldTrump identifies by name—Haiti and nations in Africa—are places with black populations. Even curiouser that the country he calls as an ideal source for new immigration is the Land of the Blond, Norway.https://t.co/0brGucdF2V pic.twitter.com/wj5mOItwAx
— Jeff Yang (@originalspin) January 11, 2018
It'll take *years* to recover from what this man is doing to America's reputation and the integrity of its government.
He's publicly calling other countries "shitholes" now. https://t.co/BtGIY2OHGt
— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) January 11, 2018
https://twitter.com/lukewaltham/status/951575293440995331
https://twitter.com/lizzieohreally/status/951576087913549825
My ancestors left shithole countries to come here, too. Peasant serfdom in Scotland. Famine-stricken Ireland.
What "shithole countries" did your ancestors come from?
— Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) January 11, 2018
Among so many other terrible things, Trump has now ruined the world "shithole," which was a really great word until now.
— Tom Breihan (@tombreihan) January 11, 2018